What do ticks do in spring? - briefly
In spring, ticks exit winter dormancy, actively quest for hosts to feed and initiate reproduction. Their activity intensifies as temperatures climb and vegetation offers suitable habitat.
What do ticks do in spring? - in detail
During the spring months, ticks become highly active in search of blood meals. Warmer temperatures and rising humidity trigger the questing behavior in which unfed individuals climb vegetation and extend their fore‑legs to latch onto passing hosts.
Key spring activities include:
- Host seeking – Nymphs and adult females climb grass blades, leaf litter, or low shrubs to attach to mammals, birds, or reptiles.
- Mating – After a female attaches to a host, she mates with a male on the host’s body; copulation typically occurs within hours of attachment.
- Engorgement – The female fills with blood over several days, expanding several times her original size.
- Detachment and oviposition – Once engorged, the female drops to the ground, finds a protected microhabitat, and lays thousands of eggs in the leaf litter or soil.
- Egg incubation – Eggs develop over 2–3 weeks, depending on temperature, after which larvae emerge and await their first blood meal.
Environmental conditions that amplify these processes are:
- Temperature – Daily averages above 10 °C (50 °F) accelerate metabolism and movement.
- Relative humidity – Levels above 80 % prevent desiccation during questing.
- Photoperiod – Lengthening daylight cues physiological changes that prepare ticks for increased activity.
The result is a surge in tick density on vegetation, raising the probability of encounters with humans and domestic animals. Bite risk peaks when hosts move through infested areas during early morning or late afternoon, when questing ticks are most active. Prompt removal of attached ticks and regular landscape management (e.g., mowing, clearing leaf litter) reduce exposure during this period.